Julia Gillard: Liberal Party dinner menu 'grossly sexist'

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has labelled a menu from an opposition
party fundraiser which included a dish described 'Julia Gillard Kentucky
Fried Quail, Small Breasts, Huge Thighs & A Big Red Box' as "grossly
sexist".

11:34AM BST 12 Jun 2013

The offensive menu was used at a small function hosted by Liberal Party candidate Mal Brough in March.

It included a dish described as "Julia Gillard Kentucky Fried Quail, Small Breasts, Huge Thighs & A Big Red Box".

"Well, I mean, this is Tony Abbott's Liberals. This is what they're like, and I think the real risk for Australia is if Mr Abbott was ever prime minister it wouldn't be a question of what is on fundraising menus, we would see this lack of respect for women littered throughout all of his government policy documents," Ms Gillard told reporters in Perth.

Ms Gillard said the menu was part of a pattern of behaviour demonstrated by Abbott and called on the Liberal Party to remove their endorsement for Mr Brough.

"Mr Abbott personally has gone and stood next to signs that describe me in a sexist way. We've had the young Liberals hosting a function where jokes were cracked about the death of my father. And now, we have Mr Brough and [Opposition Treasurer] Mr [Joe] Hockey at a function with this grossly sexist and offensive menu on display. Join the dots," Ms Gillard added.

Mr Abbott and Mr Brough both denounced the contents of the menu.

"Whether it's a tacky scatological menu at the front of a Liberal party event, whether it's squalid jokes told at a union conference dinners with ministers present, whatever it is, I think we should be better than that," Mr Abbott said.

Mr Brough was a minister in former Prime Minister John Howard's cabinet. He is running as a candidate for a Queensland state seat in the upcoming federal elections in September.